Big success for ISRO as Chandrayaan-3 successfully enters Lunar orbit

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully inserted itself into the Lunar orbit on Saturday after travelling roughly two-thirds of the way to the Moon since launch.

“MOX, ISTRAC, this is Chandrayaan-3. I am feeling lunar gravity,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) tweeted.

“Chandrayaan-3 has been successfully inserted into the lunar orbit. A retro-burning at the Perilune was commanded from the Mission Operations Complex (MOX), ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The next operation – reduction of orbit – is scheduled for Aug 6, 2023, around 23:00 Hrs. IST,” ISRO added.

India’s third lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-3, was successfully launched on the GSLV Mark 3 (LVM 3) heavy-lift launch vehicle on July 14 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Notably, this is the fourth nation, after the US, China, and Russia, to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon’s surface and show that nation’s proficiency with a secure and gentle landing on the lunar surface.

It will run for one lunar day after landing, which is equivalent to 14 days on Earth. 14 days on Earth are equivalent to one day on the Moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft is made up of a number of electrical and mechanical subsystems that work together to achieve a soft and safe landing, including guidance and control systems, propulsion systems, and navigation sensors. Other onboard electronics, two-way communication-related antennae, and release mechanisms for Rover are also present.

The declared goals of Chandrayaan-3 include a secure and soft landing, lunar rover wandering and in-situ scientific research.

Chandrayaan-3 will cost 250 crores of rupees, launch vehicle costs excluded.The development phase of Chandrayaan-3 began in January 2020, and the launch was scheduled for some time in 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic, however, caused an unanticipated delay in the mission’s advancement. The Chandrayaan-2 mission encountered difficulties during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was ultimately determined to have failed its primary mission objectives. Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt.

The first-ever worldwide map of lunar sodium, improved understanding of crater size distribution, the unmistakable detection of lunar surface water ice with the IIRS instrument, and more are among the major scientific achievements of Chandrayaan-2. There have been over 50 publications that mention the mission.

A successful lunar mission by India will improve life on Earth and allow it to explore the rest of the solar system and beyond. The moon is a repository for the Earth’s past.